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Op-Ed: NYC’s Creative Industries are the Future of Middle-wage Jobs

Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2019

Op-Ed: NYC’s Creative Industries are the Future of Middle-wage Jobs

NYC's creative economy has seen record-setting job growth but gotten only modest support from city officials. In this Crain's op-ed, CUF Executive Director Jonathan Bowles and Winston C. Fisher make the case that the creative industries should play a much larger role in the city's middle class jobs strategy.

by Jonathan Bowles and Winston C. Fisher

Tags: economic growth economic opportunity creative economy design human capital middle class jobs project

Our new op-ed in Crain's New York Business argues that in order for New York City to succeed in spurring the creation of more well-paying jobs while expanding pathways to the middle class, creative industries have to be a much larger part of the solution. Written by CUF Executive Director Jonathan Bowles and Winston C. Fisher, partner at Fisher Brothers and co-chair of the New York City Regional Economic Development Council, the commentary highlights the the creative sector's extraordinary job growth and unique security against automation while also considering the need for targeted investment and strategies so that the creative economy can continue growing and become a stronger pipeline for more New Yorkers of diverse backgrounds to reach the middle class.

You can read the op-ed here.

This op-ed is part of the Center for an Urban Future's Middle Class Jobs Project, and builds on the Center's extensive research on human capital and the challenge of generating middle-income jobs, including the recent policy forum, “Are Creative Industries the Future of Middle Class Jobs in NYC?”

The Middle Class Jobs Project is a research initiative made possible by the generous support of Fisher Brothers and Winston C. Fisher. 

General operating support for the Center for an Urban Future has been provided by The Clark Foundation, the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation.

Center for an Urban Future (CUF) is an independent, nonprofit think tank that generates innovative policies to create jobs, reduce inequality and help lower income New Yorkers climb into the middle class. For 20 years, CUF has published accessible, data-driven reports on ways to grow and diversify the economy and expand opportunity that are anchored in rigorous research, not preconceived notions about outcome. Our work has been a powerful catalyst for policy change in New York City and serves as an invaluable resource for government officials, community groups, nonprofit practitioners and business leaders as they advocate for and implement policies to address some of New York’s biggest challenges and opportunities.

 

Cover photo by Tom Rogerson on Unsplash